JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN ISRAEL SHOWED A STATISTICAL INCREASE UNTIL 1968, BUT DECREASED FROM 1969 THROUGH 1974 (THE YEAR THIS STUDY WAS CONCLUDED). MOST OF THE OFFENSES ARE AGAINST PROPERTY, WITH A RECENT TREND TOWARD MORE SERIOUS PROPERTY CRIMES (BREAKING AND ENTERING WITH VIOLENCE). THE UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN THE LAST 5 YEARS ARE IN THE FOLLOWING TRENDS: (1) THE CONVERGENCE OF SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS AND DEVELOPMENTS WITH ETHNIC, ECOLOGICAL, AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS, WHICH AGGRAVATES THE SOCIAL POSITION AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS OF SOME SECTORS OF SOCIETY; (2) AN INCREASE OF MARGINALITY AND DELINQUENCY-PRODUCING CONDITIONS IN SOME SUBCULTURAL GROUPS, PARTICULARLY THE ORIENTAL SECTORS; AND (3) ALTHOUGH THE NUMBER OF DELINQUENTS AND OFFENSES HAS DECREASED OVERALL, THERE IS AN INCREASE IN THE SERIOUSNESS OF OFFENSES, PARTICULARLY IN ORIENTAL SECTORS OF THE POPULATION LIVING IN DEVELOPMENT TOWNS AND CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS IN MAIN CITIES. IT IS NOTED, BY WAY OF EXPLAINING THE RISE OF DELINQUENCY IN CERTAIN SUBGROUPS OF ISRAELI SOCIETY, THAT THE TECHNOLOGICAL AND EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS OF MANY NEW IMMIGRANTS ARE NOT HOMOGENEOUS. THEY REFLECT DIVERGENT ATTITUDES OF VARIOUS TRADITIONAL AND MODERN INDUSTRIALIZED SOCIETIES. GENERALLY, THERE IS A MARKED DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN-AMERICAN AND AFRICAN-ASIAN BORN. THE ACCLIMATIZATION OF THE AFRICAN-ASIAN BORN IS BELIEVED COMPLICATED BY THE CONSEQUENT CHANGE IN VALUES FROM A TRADITIONAL TO A MODERN SOCIETY, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON ACCELERATED INTEGRATION. SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT DISTINCT SOCIAL CLASSES ARE CRYSTALLIZING AMONG THE IMMIGRANTS, BASED ON COUNTRY OF ORIGIN, EDUCATION, INCOME LEVEL, OCCUPATION, AND DEPENDENCE ON SOCIAL WELFARE AGENCIES. THE RECENT INCREASE IN AFFLUENCE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS HAS AGGRAVATED UNREST AND FEELINGS OF DISCRIMINATION AMONG THOSE ETHNIC GROUPS NOT PARTICIPATING IN THE WAVE OF AFFLUENCE. IT IS BELIEVED THAT THE CONCENTRATIONS OF SUBGROUPS WHO, FOR VARIOUS REASONS, ARE CHARACTERIZED BY LOW INCOMES AND ALIENATION FROM THE MAINSTREAM OF SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ARE THE SPAWNING GROUNDS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY. TABLES OF DATA ARE INCLUDED. (RCB)